Anand Gurumurthy

Application of benchmarking for assessing the lean manufacturing implementation

Purpose – In recent times, many organizations have attempted to implement or have already implemented lean manufacturing (LM). Some companies have implemented a few tools/techniques/practices/procedures (i.e. “elements” in short) of LM, while others have implemented a whole spectrum of LM elements. Under such circumstances, it becomes very difficult to gauge which organization has really embraced the lean philosophy and where it stands in comparison with other LM organizations. This paper seeks to determine the current status of benchmarking in the field of LM.Design/methodology/approach – A case study, demonstrating the application of a benchmarking (BM) process is presented.Findings – This research lists out the elements and performance measures of LM apart from highlighting the gaps in terms of performance and practices between the two organizations.Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this study are that only a preliminary BM study was carried out instead of a complete study. Similar...

Design of lean manufacturing systems using value stream mapping with simulation

Purpose – Generally, the implementation of lean manufacturing (LM) starts with the development of value stream maps. However, it has been found that value stream mapping (VSM) suffers from various shortcomings. Hence, researchers have suggested the use of simulation along with VSM. The purpose of this paper is to present an application of VSM with simulation during the design of lean manufacturing systems (LMS) using a case study of an organisation following a job shop production system to manufacture doors and windows.Design/methodology/approach – Simulation models were developed using QUeuing Event Simulation Tool for the case organisation to demonstrate how the case organisation will be changed after implementing various LM elements, apart from analysing the impact of implementing these LM elements on the organisations performance.Findings – Simulation studies were carried out for different scenarios such as “before LM” (current state VSM) and “after LM” (future state VSM). It was found that the case ...

A multi-criteria decision-making model for the justification of lean manufacturing systems

Abstract In recent years, organisations are facing stiff competition in both domestic as well as global markets due to the impact of globalisation and rapid development of technologies. To achieve a competitive advantage over other firms in these circumstances, some managers’ attempt to transform their organisation by implementing highly successful management philosophies proposed by Japanese and Western management gurus, such as Just-In-Time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Six-Sigma (SS), Lean Manufacturing Systems (LMS) etc. On the other hand, some managers’ bank on highly sophisticated, technology based systems such as Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS), Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems (CIMS), Information Systems (IS) that enable e-business through the use of software packages for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) etc. But an intriguing question that has not been answered completely is: ‘how do managers make a decision of implementing a ‘management based and people oriented philosophy and practice’ (say LMS) or a technically sophisticated system (say CIMS)?’ Implementing such massive change management programmes require a strong justification for the managers to convince the top management, as it involves huge investment and creates a longstanding impact on various resources. But such justification problems are quite complex. Traditional techniques cannot be applied as they do not account for intangible factors and benefits offered, which necessitate the use of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) models. Hence in this paper, an attempt has been made to demonstrate the application of a MCDM model, namely, the Performance Value Analysis (PVA) to analyse the alternatives (i.e., change management programmes) based on its impact on various performance measures of an organisation. A detailed algorithm of the PVA model is demonstrated using a case situation, which showed that LMS is the best for the given situation, as it results in overall improvement in the performance of the organisation.

Leanness assessment: a literature review

Purpose Assessing the outcome of lean transformation journey has been of interest to both researchers and practitioners. Various qualitative and quantitative assessment methodologies have been proposed in literature to track and measure the degree of leanness attained. The purpose of this paper is to understand the evolution of this leanness assessment literature over different attributes and identify gaps for future research. Design/methodology/approach A detailed literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers addressing leanness assessment was performed. Content analysis methodology involving a four-step process suggested by Mayring (2004) was adopted for this study. Findings The number of studies in literature on leanness assessment is low when compared to that in the area of lean implementation. Assessment methodologies developed are of wide range, varying from simple qualitative checklist to complex quantitative mathematical models. Following the trend of lean implementation literature, lean thinking assessment literature is also getting transformed from process-level monitoring to enterprise-level monitoring. Finally, based on this review, a simplified leanness assessment framework is proposed for future validation. Research limitations/implications Only peer-reviewed journals and conference papers were analyzed, while excluding the manuals, reports, and white papers from practice. Clustering of leanness assessment literature revealed that future studies in this domain would fall into two major categories, namely manufacturing leanness assessment and service leanness assessment. Practical implications Practitioners can use this review study to choose a suitable methodology for assessing the leanness attained in their organization by controlling for the structural attributes identified. Originality/value This is the first paper to review the topic “leanness assessment.” The review analyzes the entire literature available on leanness assessment to summarize its current status and identify potential future directions.

An application of analytic hierarchy process for the selection of a methodology to improve the product development process

Purpose – According to the literature, on an average, it takes around three to four years to develop a new product and about 50 percent of the costs incurred in product development (PD) tend to be spent on waste that occurs during the PD process. Hence, organizations are implementing various alternative methodologies such as Concurrent Engineering (CE), Lean Product Development (LPD)/Lean New Product Development (LNPD), and Agile Product Development (APD)/Agile New Product Development (ANPD) to improve their existing PD process. However, it is not clear: how does an organisation or a PD manager choose between these alternative methodologies for improving their PD process?Design/methodology/approach – Since the above‐mentioned problem requires multiple factors/criteria/elements (in short, it will be called as “attributes” for the sake of simplicity) to be considered simultaneously; the use of a Multi‐Attribute Decision Making (MADM) model is warranted. The most commonly used MADM model, namely the Analytic...

Graph theoretic approach for analysing the readiness of an organisation for adapting lean thinking

Purpose – A literature review revealed that in recent times, many companies have attempted organization‐wide change management through the philosophy and principles of Lean Thinking (LT). Although some organizations have transformed and reaped significant benefits in this endeavour, many organizations have failed in this attempt. One of the reasons can be attributed to the fact that not many organizations are attempting to “assess the organizational readiness” before implementing/adapting LT. This paper aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – Hence in this paper, an attempt has made to address this problem by presenting a hypothetical case study of an Indian organization to comprehensively assess organizational readiness of the case organisation using a graph theoretic approach (GTA), which has the ability to integrate and model multiple inter‐related factors.Findings – From the obtained results, it was found that the case organization is not fully ready to embrace LT. It needs to work on...

Selection of a machine tool for FMS using ELECTRE III — a case study

A review of literature related to Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) revealed that various decision problems such as selection of optimal grippers, cutting conditions, tool flow, operational control rules, etc. have been addressed. However, adequate importance is not given to the ‘selection of machine tools’. Hence, in this paper, an attempt has been made to fill in this research gap. A hypothetical case study is presented in which a decision regarding the purchase of a machine tool is to be made for establishing a FMS. To accomplish the same, a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model namely, the Elimination and Choice Translating Reality (ELECTRE) is utilized for selecting a suitable machine tool.

Systemic leanness: An index for facilitating continuous improvement of lean implementation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a leanness assessment methodology that takes into account the interaction between lean elements for computing the systemic leanness and for assisting continuous improvement of lean implementation. Design/methodology/approach Key elements determining the leanness level were identified by reviewing the relevant literature and were structured as a framework. Graph-theoretic approach (GTA) was used as the assessment methodology for its ability to evaluate the interaction between the elements in the developed framework. Findings Interactions between the lean elements were configured. Application of the proposed GTA for assessing systemic leanness was demonstrated. Scenario analysis was performed and a scale was developed to assist firms in comparing their systemic leanness index. Research limitations/implications This paper is unique in developing an assessment approach for measuring the systemic leanness. In addition, this study explains how the implementation of lean thinking (LT) in a value stream can be continuously improved by proposing a systemic leanness index that can be benchmarked. The proposed approach to measure systemic leanness can be tested across different value streams in future for extending its generalizability. Practical implications Proposed framework and leanness assessment approach presents an innovative tool for practitioners to capture the systemic aspect of LT. Proposed assessment approach supports practitioners in achieving continuous improvement in lean implementation by revealing the lean elements that need to be focused in future. Originality/value Study introduces a new perspective for LT by studying the importance of interactions between the lean elements and by incorporating them to assess the systemic leanness.

Review on Supply Chain Management Research—An Indian Perspective

In India, Supply Chain Management (SCM) has gained significant importance due to opening up of domestic economy as a result of globalization. However, a review of literature revealed that not many papers are available which attempt to document and understand the importance of SCM within the Indian business context. Hence, the purpose of this research is to fill in this research gap by analyzing the contributions of academicians and practitioners addressing various supply chain issues—specifically from an Indian perspective. Papers focusing on SCM scenario in India were collected from multiple sources by following the established methodologies available in the literature for carrying out such reviews. Furthermore, a new taxonomy was proposed on the basis of content and research methodology utilized. Based on this taxonomy, significant trends were observed and some unique inferences were drawn, apart from identifying the directions for future research. It is hoped that this work would add value by offering a unique contribution to the body of knowledge on SCM, as there is no article available in the literature, which has attempted to summarize the works from India related to SCM.

Modelling and analysis of sustainable manufacturing system using a digraph-based approach

Abstract Sustainable manufacturing practices have many benefits like cleaner production, resource efficiency along with economic benefits. Sustainable manufacturing practices focuses on four dimensions environment, economy, business and society. The effective deployment of sustainable concepts mostly depends on interaction of these sustainable dimensions. In this study, an attempt on assessment through modelling has been presented. Mostly two factors determine the sustainable performance of organisation: the performance of the criteria is identified under four dimensions (inheritance) and their interaction (interdependency) among each other. Thus, graph theory-based modelling has been done considering both inheritance and interdependency for computing Overall Organisation Sustainability (OOS) score. Finally, permanent scores for matrices obtained from experts’ team have been computed. OOS score for the organisation has been computed and is compared with the scores of hypothetical scenarios. Through the comparison with hypothetically generated practical best and worst-case scenario, insights have been derived.